Olfactory Opinions from Oz

An Evening with Portia Turbo: Perfume Lovers London

Hey APJ!
I’m guesting here today from A Bottled Rose to report on a very special occasion – Portia Turbo hosting Perfume Lovers London! The theme for the event was “Great Women” and the following should give you an idea of how it went. Just imagine Portia’s words with a good smattering of hilarious expletives.
So take your seats because here we go…

Perfume Lovers London

An Evening with Portia Turbo

28th January 2016

Portia: This the pinnacle of my fragrance experience, presenting in a chapel. I feel like “Santa Portia of the Fragrances”. The idea is to take 12 woman who were of import to the world and talk about the fragrances I’d put with them.

Portia then gave everyone a slip of coloured paper with one of the women’s names on it.

Portia: Apparently Cleopatra had a face like a foot but a beautiful body and awesome personality.
Ubar has such power but is lilting underneath. Ubar is what I imagine they’d have embalmed her in. It’s a heavenly scent, a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Who else had Cleopatra and what perfume did you think of?

Portia: Just for fun I thought we’d pair Joan with Celtic Fire (much laughter). I don’t think it really smells of Marmite.
Lila (Event organiser): Can I just say…
Portia: When it’s your evening you can say what you like (Laughter)
Lila: I was just going to say the perfumer gave Grant from Basenotes a little of the Marmite accord because he belongs to this Marmite secret society.
Portia: {With comic sarcasm} That is a lovely story. Thank-you.

Portia: Catherine the Great was truly forward-thinking and progressive. Ambre Russe smells to me what I imagine a Russian sitting room would smell like. I think when you wear it you feel like aristocracy – well obviously I do.

Portia: I call her Suzy. I’ve chosen Opium by YSL and we have some of the Parfum from the last century. Back then it was a kitchen sink fragrance – they threw everything into it. It lasts eternally on a scarf.

Portia: When I was a kid the women ran everything so I dreamt that when I grew up I’d be like Katharine Hepburn. Clearly I have her poise. I’ve chosen Gentlewoman by Juliette Has A Gun. It smells like a men’s cologne on a beautiful woman. I know some perfumistas need to be challenged every time they breathe in, but this is just really good. Any other suggestions?

Portia: I’ve chosen Ashoka because although Rosa Parks was prominent in the civil rights movement, she looks like she had a softness about her. Ashoka starts strong and strident but ends up being a creamy figgy vanilla.

Portia: What a heartbreaker she was. I’ve chosen a discontinued gem – Byzance by Rochas. It smells so fabulous on skin that I’m putting some on and walking my fat arse up and down the aisle.
Portia proceeds to windmill her arms through the audience exclaiming “I AM sillage!”

Portia: I’ve chosen Beyond Paradise for oceanographer Sylvia Earle because it’s American, a beautiful fragrance and it used to come in a bottle the shades of the sea. They’ve taken some of the breathy jasmine out of the current version.

Audience member: I thought of Lauren or Aliage by Estee Lauder because they’re outdoorsy.

Portia: Oprah is a woman who has changed the face of the world. M7 was the first oud in mainstream perfumery and it has a real smoothness. The oud and vetiver gives it a kind of petrol-y greenness. It’s fabulous but weird. No wonder it never made any money. Can you still get it?

Hope you enjoyed this taster of the Portia Turbo experience. We were all still buzzing long after the event was over. It was such a thrill.
Let me know in the comments if you have any fragrant suggestions for these great women.
Tara xxx

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38 comments on “An Evening with Portia Turbo: Perfume Lovers London”

What a fantastic way to structure a perfume event! I loved reading about this. It reads as if it there was a wonderful intimacy there. I must say though, I did laugh out loud at the mental picture of Portia working the aisle “I Am SILLAGE!” What a soundbite.

I echo Sam in every way. What a marvelous event! I so appreciate your sharing it with us. As for Elizabeth Taylor, I’m glad Portia didn’t match her with White Diamonds! But as usual, I’ve got a new list of scents to find and try.
Warm aloha,
Fifi

Portia was fabulous! It was such a fun evening and a brilliant first visit for me to Perfume Lovers London. I do think Portia needs to make ‘Sillage: The Frangance’ and then do a breathy ‘I am Sillage’ voiceover on the advert, saving the windmill walk for the launch party. 😉
I’ve kept my the handouts for reference and have loved my sample of ‘Sharp’

What a great choice for your first visit to PLL, Meredith!
Nice to hear you’ve enjoyed your sample of Sharp.
LOVE the thought of Portia doing one of those breathy fragrance ad voice-overs! 😀Tara recently posted…A Bottled Rose on APJ

Thanks for stopping by, Neva!
Portia really is an amazing entertainer which is why I was so happy to finally get to see her in action. What a fabulous experience.Tara recently posted…A Bottled Rose on APJ

What a fabulously fun presentation! I have been looking forward to this post for awhile. Thank you, Tara, for your great report on the action. I especially liked Portia’s “I am sillage” ! The whole event must have been wild!
Azar xx

It was pretty wild, Azar! A lot of fun was had by all. Portia didn’t disappoint her adoring fans who had travelled from far and wide.
“I am sillage” is sure to go down in history 😉Tara recently posted…A Bottled Rose on APJ

You know, Tara, that I love reading your reports of events I couldn’t be a part of (though I think I would still enjoy reading even about those that I personally attended – we’ll have to test this theory one day 😉 ). Thank you for bringing it to us.
I’m not good at scenting anybody/anything (but myself 😉 ) but, I think, I’d share my beloved Ubar with Cleopatra…Undina recently posted…From the Cutting Room Floor: Rusty plays Milo

Ha! Thanks, Undina. We shall definitely have to test that out one of these days.
If you’d have to share a beloved fragrance with anyone from history, Cleopatra isn’t bad 🙂Tara recently posted…A Bottled Rose on APJ

Oh, it was such fun to relive the evening through your thorough report. I am convinced you were a stenographer in a former life, as I have said many times. I especially loved the way you captured all Portia’s best wisecracks, and also the fact that you used different pictures from the ones projected on-screen on the night. And Portia’s outfit was an absolute highlight. 😉

A brilliant report as usual. I loved the ones you did on B’s blog. Now I am feeling smug for having suggested to Portia that a “Tara report” of her appearance/performance at Perfume Lovers London would be ideal. Good to see that Portia agreed and that she broke her short posts only rule.

Also really enjoying your blog “A Bottled Rose.” I’m happy to see you continuing to report the PPL events.

Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Lindaloo. It’s nice to hear you’ve been visiting A Bottled Rose. Ah, so it was your idea? I must say, it’s been really fun guesting here on APJ as I’m such a fan.

It was good of Portia to break her short post rule for me. I cut it down as much as I could but it would have been such a shame to miss out so much good stuff. It’s her fault for being so damn fabulous.Tara recently posted…A Bottled Rose on APJ

If I didn’t take notes and write them up straight away I’d be lost! I thought I might not be able to enjoy the evening as much but I don’t see how I could have enjoyed it more.Tara recently posted…A Bottled Rose on APJ